


Words Left Unsaid

by ohmytheon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Prompt Fic, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:26:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3150578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, it takes a little prying (and some arguing) to get the truth out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Words Left Unsaid

For the most part, Catelyn and Tywin never had arguments. They were a different sort of couple. Not that anyone would ever call them a couple, least of all Tywin. She didn’t really know what they were, but she knew not to question it, lest it all go away just as randomly as it started. After all, she’d never expected to date anyone after her late husband’s sudden death; and she didn’t know if she could call what she and Tywin were doing “dating”. Sure, they went out for dinner, had coffee, stayed at each other’s place, slept together…all the other things that couples did. But they never called each other a couple; and for a while, she didn’t mind that.

Except, strangely, for today.

There was nothing particularly important about today. It wasn’t a holiday or a birthday or anything. It was just an average day. It had been a frustrating day at the office, but that wasn’t unusual in itself. She and Tywin had made plans to have dinner at her house since all of her kids were busy and they could have the house to themselves. Normally that would’ve helped her relax, but instead she just felt stressed even further.

And she was even more frustrated by the man that preached about promptness and looked down on those that were even a minute late with such disdain that they shook in their shoes. Because that man was late – thirty minutes late to be precise – and the dinner that she’d so carefully prepared was getting colder by the second. Her own plate was left untouched in front of her. She hadn’t even taken a sip of wine. Instead she sat back in the chair, her arms folded across her chest, and looked down at the wasted food before her.

Only when there was a click in the lock, signaling someone entering, did Catelyn look up and watch as Tywin stepped inside. She kept a neutral expression on her face, but inside she was boiling with anger, something she’d never felt towards him before. Maybe it was now that she finally realized just how taken for granted she felt sometimes by Tywin, how there were time when she felt like she didn’t really matter to him but was just there to fill a space he thought little of in the first place, and that wasn’t good enough. Ned had always made her feel needed and loved; and while Tywin Lannister was no Ned Stark, he meant something to her. Did she mean anything to him?

Tywin stopped at the other end of the table, wearing a mirroring neutral expression on his face. “Catelyn.” There was barely any tone to his voice, certainly no emotion. That only served to irritate her further.

“Well, there’s always a microwave,” Catelyn sighed, trying to remain calm.

“Completely takes away the flavor–”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have been so ridiculously late.” Catelyn stood up from the chair and began to clean the table of the food, refusing to look at him. “So what happened?”

“A client called last minute needing to speak with me.”

“Mm, of course.”

Tywin set his briefcase down in the chair he was supposed to have been occupying for dinner. “You know my job is important–”

“Yes, of course, I know your job is important,” Catelyn snapped, finally raising her head to look him in the eyes. She willed tears not to appear and they didn’t. She had never cried in front of him before and she wasn’t about to start now. “It’s the most important thing in the world to you.”

“This firm is my family’s legacy, Catelyn.” He shook his head at her. “I thought you of all people would understand this.”

“Oh, I understand,” Catelyn replied as she took both plates of food back into the kitchen. She almost threw the food away out of anger, but hesitated and put the plates in the fridge instead. Even if Tywin wouldn’t warm up the food, one of her kids would. None of them were so picky as to refuse to eat leftovers, not like her…her whatever Tywin was. “I understand perfectly well, Tywin. The next time you’re going to be late though, I’d appreciate a call to warn me or for you to just not show up at all.”

When she finally turned around to face him, there was a strange look on Tywin’s face, one that she’d never seen before. She couldn’t tell if there was any remorse or humiliation, but she didn’t think so. If there were two things in the world Tywin did not do, it was remorse or humiliation. He looked at those emotions as weakness. “Catelyn, I don’t know what you want me to say.”

She rubbed her face and leaned back against the counter. “I want you to say that you’re sorry for being late or that you care about me.”

“That I’m sorry?” He seemed almost offended by the idea.

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. The Great Tywin Lannister never apologizes even when he’s at fault.”

He shook his head at her. “Now you’re just being childish.”

“Childish?” Catelyn huffed and brushed past him out of the kitchen, not caring about being nice or gentle. “You were thirty minutes late, didn’t even bother to call to let me know–”

“I was speaking with a client.”

“–won’t even say you’re sorry for making me waste my time and then sit here alone pathetically, and I’m the childish one? Part about being mature, Tywin, is knowing when the apologize for hurting someone.” She stopped when Tywin reached out and grabbed her arm, forcing her to spin around to face him. She yanked her arm out of his grasp. “You can leave now.”

“I’m not leaving, not while you’re in this state,” Tywin said.

Catelyn almost laughed. “In this state, really, Tywin? Unbelievable.”

“If you could just calm down for one second–”

“I am calm,” Catelyn said, definitely not calm at all. “I’m always calm. I’m calm every time you blow me off for work; I’m calm when you refuse to kiss me or so much as hold my hand in public; I’m calm when you introduce me as ‘Catelyn Stark’ to others, as if we haven’t been sleeping together for the past year. I think I’m calm enough and I’m quite done, thank you!”

Tywin stepped back, almost as if he’d been slapped in the face. “What do you want me to say? ‘Sorry that I’m a workaholic and the sole one running my family’s firm.’ ‘Sorry I’m uncomfortable with public displays of affection.’ ‘Sorry I don’t want everyone knowing my private business and that I’d rather people talk about our work than our sex life.’ What? Is that it? I’ll give an interview and tell the whole world that I’m fucking Catelyn Stark!”

“If that’s all I mean to you, then you can get out right now, because I will not be made a fool of like this any longer!”

“No, that’s not what you mean to me, Catelyn! I love you, for God’s sake.”

And just like that, everything stopped and the entire room went silent. They stared at each other. An almost panicked look fell across Tywin’s face, one that she’d never seen before. She had been almost certain that Tywin never felt panicked before or at least never showed it, but this was new. It was almost like he was actually…scared.

Catelyn wrapped her arms around herself and tilted her head, giving him an unsure look. “You…love me?”

Tywin said nothing in response.

She bit her lip. “You’ve never so much as admitted to any such emotions towards me before, so I’m just…curious…” Still, he said nothing. And she knew that his brain was working overtime, but for once, he couldn’t come up with anything. She knew that she would have to take the first step. So she took three careful steps towards him and gently laid a hand on his arm. “You don’t have to say anything. I know how uncomfortable you are with these things.”

“It’s not–” Tywin cut himself off. He sounded so off. “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable. It’s that… I didn’t consider this outcome.”

Catelyn raised an eyebrow and gave him a rather amused look. “Outcome?”

Tywin gave her an exasperated look in return. “You know what I mean.”

“I think that I do,” Catelyn sighed gently. After all, she had never thought…after Ned… She’d fully expected to never love someone in that way again. She had never expected someone to love her either. And she’d been fine with that. She’d accepted it. And now this… “Do I need to say it?”

Tywin cleared his throat and looked away, which in turn made her laugh lightly. “Now you’re definitely mocking me.”

“I think I deserve my due,” Catelyn said, stepping up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek, “and dinner.”

The look on Tywin’s face told her everything. He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her full on the lips. “I think I can do that.”


End file.
